Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-12-10


fact that the largS increase in tonnage
since that time has made the actual profits
far greater than ever before. The lake
trade is a peculiar one, and neccs-
narily much more fuctuating than rail
Or ocean business With che period of dull
trade that began in 1851, which was brought
about by stasnation in the iron trade, aided
by light foreign demand for grain, the lake
fleet added very few vessels to its list; but
about the middle Of June last year there
sprans up a sudden and somewhat unex-
pected demand for ore carriers; new mines
rapidly developed at Ashland and Two Har-
bors at the farther end Of Lake Superior,
thus necessitating long trips, and since that
time there has been a steady demand for ore
vessels This is now more pronounced than
that for wheat, coal or lumber carriers,
though it is usually expected to drop of
some weeks before the coal or wheat trade,
especially as the ore usually freezes solid in
the pockets before the lakes freeze over.
The lake trade is comparatively in its in
fancy, vet it has assumed Of late years some-
thing like giant proportions. As lately as
1870 the tonnage passing through the Sault
canal to and from Lake Superior was insig
niiicant. reaching but 10000 tons in 1869,
times that amount, actually exceeding the
famous Suez canal in tonnage or freight
transmitted. The Lake Superior region was
too much of wilderness for the heavy de-
mand for grain in lsfO-10 to reach it, but
Lake Michigan profited by the water route
to Buffalo and via the Erie canal to New
York as far a. the development Of the west
ern wheat and corn region.at that time made
it possible The vessels Of those days were
the canal schooners, rs they are now slight
ingly called, from their ability to navigate the
old Welland canal into Lake Ontario, and it
took lake full Of them to do any amount Of
business. The change from those days to tho
present can perhaps be no better shown than
by reference to the fact that wheat freights
were twenty-five cents bushel from Chicago
TO Buffalo in war times. and n citizen Of Buff
falo remembers seeing just of the city sixty
three schooners in a single morning. They
carried from 5000 to { 90 bushels each, and
when one season a schooner arrived with TO-
0O0 bushels Of oats, a Buffalo editor filled a
column Of his paper trying to show that car
goes Of such prodigious sizs could never be
made to pay!
Today the canal schooner Of even 20 900 or
81, 900 bushel capacity is voted Of no account,
and more than one vessel has reached Buffalo
this season with cargoes Of 100, 900 bushels
In isis, five years after Perry's feet Of sail
boats had hurled" the British, with another
feet Of sailboats, Off Lake Erie the dese of
the great lakes flying the American Gag
numbered fifty craft, yet the combined tou-
mage Of them all has moro than once been ex-
ceeded this year by a single craft built at
Buffalo, Cleveland or in the shipyards Of De-
troit river or Saginaw bay.
The evolution OF the lake vessel Of today
has been steady and res ular. 1t was at first
a single masted sail craft of less than 100
tons, capable of navigating creeks and enter
ing every apology Of a harbor on the lakes.
1t was small enough, too, to be polsd or
dragged by oxen up the inlets in the absence
of anything answering more directly to the
present steam ting The next step was the
larger square rigged craft, which was not
superseded till several years of experiment in
steam had followed the launching of the
Walk in the Water at Buffalo, in 1881. Then
a season of the clumsy side wheel steamer
alongside the sailing craft, then the discovery,
early in the forties, of the screw propeller
and its superior adaptability to narrow and
frozen passages.
Then came a new idea; the steamer took
wheeler nearly disappeared and the propeller
took the schooner or barge in tow, and long
lines Of from two to eight vessels were seen
passing up and down the lakes in tow Of a
single steamer. This style is now 50 popular
that schooner with topmasts is already be
coming a rarity. The schooners tow line is
wind and nautical lore, sufficient in itself so
long as it holds together. Since towing be-
came the rule several changes have taken
place in steam craft The river tug" Of
about 100 tons but carrying no cargo, was
for awhile the favorite. The name was
from the fact that these tugs were
used mainly TO tow schconers through
Detroit and ST. Clair rivera Later
on it became apparent that the towing vessel
should be large enough to carry cargo as
well as pull q consort, SO for several years
no river tugs have been built The original